'Mary Poppins' brings some of film's magic to the stage

From left, Ashley Brown as Mary Poppins, Justin Hall as Michael Banks, Aida Neitenbach as Jane Banks and Gavin Lee as Bert perform "Step In Time" with the company of the original national tour of "Mary Poppins." The show plays through Feb. 7 at the Ahmanson Theatre.JOAN MARCUS

"Mary Poppins" has finally floated onto a stage near you. The big-budget musical opened Sunday at the Ahmanson Theatre, where it will stay through Feb. 7.

Is this the show you should take the kids or grandkids to see over the upcoming holiday season? It depends on what you're expecting – and whether or not you're willing to allow its creative team a little license in departing from the 1964 film, one of the most beloved movie musicals of all time.

After the spectacular success of "The Lion King" more than a decade ago, Disney has been casting far and wide to create another musical with the same magic combination of critical acclaim and box-office mojo. "Aida" didn't do it. Neither did "Tarzan" or "The Little Mermaid."

Reaching far back into the company vault, Disney dusted off "Mary Poppins" for theatrical treatment. The film was a breakthrough for the young Julie Andrews, and the songs of Richard and Robert Sherman went a long way toward alleviating the darker moments of P.L. Travers' caustic tale of child-rearing the British way (many of which were glossed over anyway by screenwriters Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi).

Collaborating with British mega-producer Cameron Mackintosh, who secured the theatrical rights to the book and labored for years to bring "Mary Poppins" to the stage, Disney assembled a first-rate team of mostly British talent: director Richard Eyre, writer Julian Fellowes, choreographer Matthew Bourne, scenic and costume designer Bob Crowley, and songwriters George Stiles and Anthony Drewe (to add to the Shermans' spare score). With the assistance of Thomas Schumacher, president of Disney Theatrical Group, "Mary Poppins" finally came to life on stage in 2004 after a three-year gestation.

Despite their efforts, "Poppins" was received with less than unbridled enthusiasm when it debuted in London in 2004; attendance sagged a few months into the run. Lightened up for Broadway, the show opened in November 2006 at Disney's New Amsterdam Theatre, where it's been playing ever since.

Though it seems more confident and less shrill now than when I saw it in New York, "Mary Poppins" still feels as if it needs at least another half-spoonful of sugar.

Fellowes has added scenes and characters that occasionally confuse the story, even though some of them hew to Travers' original narrative.

A trip to a mysterious Caribbean sorceress inexplicably leads to the free-form composition of the word "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious." And an evil replacement nanny, Miss Andrew, is an entirely disposable villainess. She provides some back story – she was the nanny-from-hell for the Travers family patriarch, George, which helps explain his cold and pinched exterior. But as an opponent for a cheerful battleship like Miss Poppins, she's strictly junior league.

Other story elements from the film have disappeared – the suffragette subplot, for example. Winifred Banks, George's wife, now seems passive and weak-willed. Her 11th-hour defense of buttoned-down George in front of his pompous bosses comes out of nowhere.

Still, this is a musical that combines the grandiose skills of Mackintosh and Disney. During its big, masterfully designed production numbers, "Poppins" weaves its own special brand of magic. It seems entirely appropriate for Bert, the multitalented chimney sweep, to dance up the walls and onto the ceiling. And this wouldn't have been a proper "Poppins" without at least one scene of Mary sailing over her charges, her stalwart umbrella and can-do attitude combining to keep her aloft.

This cast is anchored by Ashley Brown, who played Mary Poppins on Broadway. She has improved her performance since then. Three years ago her portrayal lacked compassion to temper that laser-focused confidence. Now there's more sugar, less starch. And her singing voice, though it doesn't compare to Andrews' – whose could? – is lovely.

Brown is paired with Gavin Lee, a veteran of the London and New York productions of "Poppins," as Bert. He's perfect for the part: raffish and playful, his carefree attitude never concealing the torch he carries for Mary (was that a touch of sexual tension I detected in the farewell scene?). He's also athletic and lithe, bringing to mind his movie counterpart, Dick Van Dyke. (On Sunday, Van Dyke appeared during the bows and graciously acknowledged Lee's performance.)

There are other standouts among the large cast.

Karl Kenzler's George Banks is younger and more aggressively prickly than David Tomlinson was in the film, but he gives the character a hint more mischief, too. As Winifred Banks, Megan Osterhaus brings a warm maternal stoicism to the story's most thankless role (there's little else required, unfortunately). Mrs. Brill, the long-suffering Banks maid, fits Valerie Boyle as comfortably as an old shoe.

All in all, this "Poppins" seems considerably closer to a finished product than it did a few years ago. One of the more noticeable improvements was the replacement of "Temper, Temper," an out-of-place song in which the children's toys come to life and terrorize them, with a less traumatizing substitute, "Playing the Game."

Will you like the stage show as much as the film? The best thing to do is go with an open mind and treat it as a separate experience. This brand of "Mary Poppins" has its memorable moments, too, even though it might not meet everyone's standards of supercalifragilisticexpialidocious-ness.

From left, Ashley Brown as Mary Poppins, Justin Hall as Michael Banks, Aida Neitenbach as Jane Banks and Gavin Lee as Bert perform "Step In Time" with the company of the original national tour of "Mary Poppins." The show plays through Feb. 7 at the Ahmanson Theatre. JOAN MARCUS
Ashley Brown as Mary Poppins performs the musical number "Step In Time" from the original national tour company of "Mary Poppins" which will be presented at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre Nov. 15 through Feb. 7. JOAN MARCUS
Karl Kenzler as George Banks in the original national tour of "Mary Poppins." JOAN MARCUS
Megan Osterhaus as Winifred Banks in the original national tour of "Mary Poppins." JOAN MARCUS
From left, Valerie Boyle as Mrs. Brill, Andrew Keenan-Bolger as Robertson Ay, Abigail Droeger as Jane Banks, Christopher Flaim as Michael Banks, Megan Osterhaus as Winifred Banks and Ashley Brown as Mary Poppins perform in the musical number "A Spoonful of Sugar" from the original national tour of "Mary Poppins." JOAN MARCUS
From left, Christopher Flaim as Michael Banks, Ashley Brown as Mary Poppins and Aida Neitenbach as Jane Banks perform in the musical number "Practically Perfect" from the original national tour of "Mary Poppins." JOAN MARCUS
From left, Abigail Droeger as Jane Banks, Ashley Brown as Mary Poppins, Gavin Lee as Bert and Justin Hall as Michael Banks perform "Step In Time" with the company of the original national tour of "Mary Poppins." JOAN MARCUS
The company of "Mary Poppins" perform the musical number "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious." JOAN MARCUS
Christopher Flaim as Michael Banks and Ashley Brown as Mary Poppins perform in the musical number "A Spoonful of Sugar" from the original national tour of "Mary Poppins." JOAN MARCUS
Gavin Lee as Bert performs the musical number "Chim Chim Cher-ee" from the original national tour of "Mary Poppins." JOAN MARCUS
From left, Gavin Lee as Bert, Justin Hall as Michael Banks and Abigail Droeger as Jane Banks perform in the musical number "Let's Go Fly a Kite" from the original national tour of "Mary Poppins." JOAN MARCUS
From left, Ashley Brown as Mary Poppins, Abigail Droeger as Jane Banks, Christopher Flaim as Michael Banks and Gavin Lee as Bert perform "Step In Time" with the company of the original national tour of "Mary Poppins." JOAN MARCUS
Ashley Brown as 'Mary Poppins' performs the musical number "Step In Time" from the original national tour company of "Mary Poppins." JOAN MARCUS

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